Kheema (Mince lamb curry)

A favourite with many, my home-town of Kolhapur has achieved cult status owing to its awesome Kolhapuri food. The kheema -pav is a one such rockstar dish. Kheema means mince. The recipe is essentially mince curry. Over the years, I have mastered this dish, but my mother makes the best Kheema I have ever tasted. The ingredients she uses and the once listed here are identical but her curry tastes different than mine. When I say different it is good different off course. 

The key ingredient which gives this dish flavour and colour is "kanda lehsun masala" which is a onion garlic dry roasted masala. You can probably get this in most Indian or sub-continental grocery store. 

Ingredients:

1 Kilo Lamb Mince

1 1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut

1 large onion finely chopped

8-10 cloves of garlic

1 inch ginger

2 tablespoon kanda lehsun masala (substitute with 1 tablespoon of chili powder)

2 tablespoon garam masala

1 cup fresh coriander leaves

4 tablespoon of oil

salt to taste

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Pressure cook the lamb mince for 3-4 whistles. Once cooked,separate the stock and the meat. Mash the mince to separate the clumps formed due to pressure cooking. If you do not have a pressure cooker then cook the mince in a pot with little oil.

Roast the grated coconut and in a blending bowl mix the coconut, ginger, garlic, coriander, garam masala and kanda lehsun masala. Adding 1/2 cup of water make a fine paste in a blender.

In a large pot add the oil and saute the onion until translucent. Add the blended masala and cook for about 7 minutes on medium heat. Add the mince and mix well. 

Add the stock and 1/2 litre of water and bring it to boil. Add salt to taste.

Serve with rice or white bread with a wedge of lemon.

Chicken Quesadilla

Mexican food....full of flavours which come from a blend of ingredients such as jalapeno, cheese, meat and beans on a hard shell taco or soft corn wrap. Add to it a dollop of sour cream and guacamole and you have a divine treat. We just love Mexican food and I always like to have a few extra jalapeno peppers on my dish.

Ingredients:

250 gms chicken cut in thin strips

1 spanish onion diced

1 cup corn kernels

2 red chillies

jalapeno peppers

taco seasoning

mozzarella cheese

sour cream

guacamole

corn wraps

1 tsp vegetable oil

1 tsp lime juice

salt to taste

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

In a pan heat the oil and saute the onion until translucent. Add the chicken and cook until it turns brown. To this add the taco seasoning and salt and cook for further 2-3 minutes in a low heat. Set this mixture aside.

To prepare corn salsa, add the corn kernels, chillies and lime juice in a blender and lightly blend them together.

Using a sandwich press place the corn wrap. If you do not have a sandwich press, griddle can be used to replace the press. On one side of the wrap place the chicken mix, corn salsa, jalapenos and cheese. Fold the other side over this mixture and cook it until the both sides are brown.

Serve with cream and guacamole.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Lentil Soup

The winter is here a few months earlier. We spend the better part of this season indoors. If you have not noticed already, this is also the time when we like munching on something all the time (I know I do). I have just the thing for you if you are craving something filling and hot.

The lentil soup is perfect for these months and will keep you fuller for longer. The best part about this soup is, apart from the lentils and tomatoes you can use any vegetables in this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 can of lentils

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 carrot diced

2 stalks of celery diced

1 leak finely chopped

2 cups of chicken/vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

black pepper

sea salt

2 tsp of olive oil

2 puff pastry sheets

 

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time:40 mins

 

Dice the carrots, celery and finely chop the leak. In a pan add olive oil and saute the leak for 1min on medium heat. Add the carrots and celery and saute for additional 2 mins. Add the bay leaf and the cinnamon stick to the pan.

 

Add the lentils, tomatoes and mix the soup thoroughly. Add freshly ground black pepper and sea salt to taste. Add the stock, cover it and let it simmer for 20 mins.

 

Meanwhile pre-heat the oven at 180 Deg. C. Prepare 2 oven proof soup bowls. Cut one of the pastry sheets in to rectangular strips. Wrap the rectangular strips around the soup bowls. Half of the strip should be above the bowls edge and the other half should be secured on the bowls side from outside. Using a stencil larger than the bowls opening cut 4 circles of the pastry sheets. Apply butter to the circles and arrange one each on top of the other two.

 

Divide the soup between the two bowls. Place the double layered circular pastry sheet on top of the soup bowls and seal it with the rectangular strips that are

around the bowl using a fork. Apply some more butter on the top of the pastry circles. Bake it in the oven for 20 more minutes.

 

When the pastry sheets are nice and golden brown, the soup is ready. Just crack the top of the sheet with a spoon and let some heat escape before you dig in. Enjoy the soup with puff pastry.

 

If you wish not to bake the soup in the oven using pastry sheet boil it for total of 40 mins on stove top.  

Mushroom and Feta Pizza

Why eat some store bought stale pizza when you can make healthy pizza at home. Yes I said it, pizza can be healthy if you make it right. Since I perfected the knack of pizza from fresh ingredients, we as a family have stopped eating store bought pizza. It is necessary that you have all fresh ingredients to make delicious and healthy pizza at home. Here is what you need.

 

Ingredients:

For the base

 

2 cups of plain flour

1 tsp of dry yeast

pinch of salt

pinch of sugar

water to make knead the dough

 

For the toppings

1 green capsicum chopped lengthwise

1 onion chopped lengthwise

50 gms button mushrooms chopped lengthwise

1 cup of tomato sauce

2 tsp of dried oregano

1 tsp of chilli flakes

Shredded light cheese

Feta cheese

 

Preparation time: 2 hrs (to cut the preparation time by 2/3rds use pizza bases preferably thin crust)

Cooking time: 20 mins per pizza

 

Mix the flour, yeast salt, sugar and enough water to make dough. Cover the dough and set aside for at lest 30 mins. After 30 mins knead again and cover for further 1 hour. By then you should have a dough which has almost doubled in size due to yeast action. Divide the dough into 2 dough balls.

 

Meanwhile, chop all the vegetables. Mix the tomato sauce and oregano and set aside. Preheat the oven at 180 Deg C.

 

Spread some flour on the bench top and roll the dough to make a round base. The size of this base depends on the pizza stone (if you have one) or oven dish. Using a fork pierce the base at several places. Place the pizza base on the pizza stone.

 

Spread half of the tomato sauce on the pizza dough. Spread a small amount of light cheese on the pizza. Spread all the chopped vegetables on the pizza. Spread some more light cheese on the pizza and spread chunks of feta cheese. Do not smother the vegetables with the cheese otherwise the whole purpose of healthy pizza will be defeated. Sprinkle some chilli flakes.

 

Bake the pizza in the oven for 20 mins or until the feta chunks become golden brown. Enjoy the pizza. You can bring in the variation by adding marinated chicken in BBQ sauce or adding chunks of ham.

 

 

Tawa (Pan) Vegetables

If you are tired of eating the same old steamed vegies, todays recipe will spice things up for you a little bit. The recipe I am featuring is Tava Vegetables. The vegetables I have picked, are not necessarily the once you have to use. You can mix your choice of vegetables in this dish. 

 

Here are the Ingredients:

250 gms of paneer chopped in big pieces For those who are lactose intolerant you can substitute this with firm tofu.

½ green capsicum again chopped in big chunks

50 gms button mushrooms

1 Spanish onion chopped in big pieces

200 gms tomato puree

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp red chilli powder

2 tsp kitchen king masala

1 tsp jeera or cumin seeds

1 tsp kasoori methi or dried fenugreek leaves

2 tblspn of ghee if you do not have ghee you can use regular butter

and lastly salt to taste.

 

Preparation Time: 15 Mins

Cooking Time: 25 Mins

 

In a heavy bottom pan heat most of the ghee and cumin seeds. To that add the onion and the vegetables. Saute the vegetables on high heat for 5 mins until the all the vegetable are brown in colour. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.

To the same pan add a rest of the ghee. Add the ginger garlic paste and kasoori methi. Saute it for half a minute and add the tomato puree. Add the chilli powder and the kitchen king masala and cook it until the ghee starts to seperate from the mixture.

Return the vegetable to the this mixture add a little bit of salt. Cook it for about 2 mins. Do not cover the pan because we do not want to introduce any moisture in the dish. There you go you have your Tawa (Pan) vegetables ready. Serve it with Roti.